TSLA Tesla Inc

By Ben Foldy 

Federal regulators are looking into whether consumer complaints of unintended acceleration in Tesla Inc. models warrant a formal defect investigation into about 500,000 vehicles sold by the electric-car maker.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is evaluating 127 complaints received by the agency, which resulted in a reported 110 crashes and 52 injuries, according to documents posted online Friday morning.

The agency said it received an emailed petition in December citing the complaints and requesting an investigation. It didn't identify who submitted it. By law, the agency is required to evaluate petitions alleging defects and decide whether to open an investigation.

The complaints about the issue include all three models Tesla sells and potentially could cover about 500,000 vehicles, regulators estimate, or nearly all of the cars the company has sold since launching its Model S sedan in 2012.

Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment.

The company's shares, which have surged 22% since the start of the year, fell less than 1% in morning trading Friday.

Write to Ben Foldy at Ben.Foldy@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2020 10:57 ET (15:57 GMT)

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